CASTRO CALLS TO END FAMILY DETENTION
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and 135 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson calling for DHS to end its use of family detention facilities. Multiple reports documenting excessively long detention times, developmental delays in children, and poor, neglectful healthcare in the DHS centers prompted the lawmakers' letter.
"Women and children fleeing violence and abuse who come to America looking for safety are not hardened criminals, they're refugees,"? said Rep. Castro. "We should treat them with compassion, make legal processes available, and find alternatives to detention centers that are appropriate and effective."
Repeatedly, DHS has cited deterrence as justification for using the jail-like facilities, yet the agency has not provided evidence to substantiate that rationale.
"Conditions are so dire in these families' countries of origin, folks are willing to risk everything just for the chance of a better, safe life in America,"? added Rep. Castro. "Instead of criminalizing women and children who arrive at our borders in desperation, let's address the problem driving this phenomenon and help foster stable, nonviolent societies in the Central American nations from which these refugees are fleeing."?
Text of the letter is included below.
[BEGIN LETTER TEXT]
Secretary Jeh Johnson
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Secretary Johnson:
We are troubled by the Department of Homeland Security's continued detention of mothers and children in secure, jail-like facilities. For nearly one year we have been closely following the troublesome conditions of confinement, due process issues, and serious developmental and medical concerns of those being detained. Many of us have raised these matters in writing and continue to bring concerns to DHS through individual case examples and systemic complaints. We believe your Department has heard many of our concerns but has not fully grasped the serious harm being inflicted upon mothers and children in custody. We believe the only solution to this problem is to end the use of family detention.
The recent announcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on family detention does not acknowledge that even detention for a brief period of time, especially in a secure setting, is detrimental to child development. Based upon his 39 years of clinical experience and interviews with families at the Karnes Residential Center, the Dean of Social Work at the University of Texas, Dr. Luis Zayas, found that the children at Karnes are “facing some of the most adverse childhood conditions of any children I have ever interviewed or evaluated." In his affidavit, Dean Zayas concluded that "detention has had serious and long-lasting impacts on the psychological health and well-being"? of the families at Karnes and that these impacts were evident in families who were detained for as little as two weeks.
We believe it is undeniable that detention in a secure facility is detrimental to mothers and children and is not reflective of our values as a Nation. Children require special protections and should not be placed in jail-like settings.
We are particularly troubled by the current practice of family detention because the detained population is largely comprised of refugees fleeing violence and persecution in their home
countries. We have heard horrific stories of sexual assault, intense physical violence, kidnapping, and sex trafficking. These stories come not only from adult mothers, but also from young children who have been victims of such abuse. Detaining children who have already been victims of abuse exacerbates past trauma and raises unique and serious problems.
DHS has repeatedly used deterrence as a justification for the existence of family detention, but this theory has not been substantiated with compelling evidence. Moreover, a federal court in the District of Columbia rejected this argument and found that DHS cannot detain asylum-seeking mothers and children from Central America for the purpose of deterring other migrants from entering the country. We agree and believe that the hypothetical recurrence of a future refugee flow does not justify the very real harm being inflicted upon mothers and children in a secure setting.
Lastly, we are disturbed by the fact that many mothers and children remain in family detention despite serious medical needs. In the past year, we have learned of the detention of children with intellectual disabilities, a child with brain cancer, a mother with a congenital heart disorder, a 14- day-old baby, and a 12-year-old child who has not eaten solid food for two months, among many others. Recently, we learned of a three-year-old child at the Berks County Residential Center who was throwing up for three days and was apparently offered water as a form of medical treatment. It was only after the child began throwing up blood on the fourth day that the facility finally transferred her to a hospital.3 This is simply unacceptable. We cannot continue to hear reports of serious harm to children in custody and do nothing about it.
We must prioritize the health and well-being of mothers and children while also prioritizing our enforcement objectives. Detaining mothers and children in jail-like settings is not the answer. We have an opportunity to do the right thing and are confident that DHS has the capacity to honor our Nation’s longstanding commitment both to the protection and well-being of refugee families and to law enforcement and public safety.
Sincerely,
Hon. Zoe Lofgren
Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard
Hon. Luis V. Gutierrez
Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader
Hon. Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Whip
Hon. John Conyers, Jr.
Hon. Charles B. Rangel
Hon. Marcy Kaptur
Hon. Eliot L. Engel
Hon. Nita M. Lowey
Hon. Jose E. Serrano
Hon. David E. Price
Hon. Rosa L. DeLauro
Hon. Maxine Waters
Hon. Jerrold Nadler
Hon. Corrine Brown
Hon. Gene Green
Hon. Alcee L. Hastings
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson
Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney
Hon. Nydia M. Velazquez
Hon. Lloyd Doggett
Hon. Chaka Fattah
Hon. Sheila Jackson Lee
Hon. Elijah E. Cummings
Hon. Danny K. Davis
Hon. Diana DeGette
Hon. Ruben Hinojosa
Hon. Adam Smith
Hon. Gregory W. Meeks
Hon. Lois Capps
Hon. Barbara Lee
Hon. Janice D. Schakowsky
Hon. Steve Israel
Hon. Rick Larsen
Hon. Betty McCollum
Hon. Adam B. Schiff
Hon. Linda T. Sanchez
Hon. G. K. Butterfield
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver
Hon. Al Green
Hon. Gwen Moore
Hon. Doris O. Matsui
Hon. Albio Sires
Hon. Yvette D. Clarke
Hon. Steve Cohen
Hon. Keith Ellison
Hon. Henry C. "Hank"? Johnson, Jr.
Hon. Jerry McNerney
Hon. Peter Welch
Hon. Donna F. Edwards
Hon. Gerald E. Connolly
Hon. Ben Ray Luján
Hon. Chellie Pingree
Hon. Paul Tonko
Hon. Mike Quigley
Hon. Judy Chu
Hon. John Garamendi
Hon. Theodore E. Deutch
Hon. David N. Cicilline
Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton
Hon. Pedro R. Pierluisi
Hon. Ruben Gallego
Hon. Sander M. Levin
Hon. Jim McDermott
Hon. Xavier Becerra
Hon. Robert C. "Bobby"? Scott
Hon. Sam Farr
Hon. Earl Blumenauer
Hon. Ron Kind
Hon. Loretta Sanchez
Hon. Michael E. Capuano
Hon. Joseph Crowley
Hon. John B. Larson
Hon. Grace F. Napolitano
Hon. Susan A. Davis
Hon. Michael M. Honda
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva
Hon. Tim Ryan
Hon. Chris Van Hollen
Hon. Jared Polis
Hon. Bill Foster
Hon. Julia Brownley
Hon. Tony Cardenas
Hon. Lois Frankel
Hon. Jared Huffman
Hon. Hakeem S. Jeffries
Hon. Derek Kilmer
Hon. Grace Meng
Hon. Beto O'Rourke
Hon. Raul Ruiz
Hon. Mark Takano
Hon. Juan Vargas
Hon. Robin L. Kelly
Hon. Katherine M. Clark
Hon. Donald Norcross
Hon. Pete Aguilar
Hon. John Lewis
Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr.
Hon. James E. Clyburn
Hon. Anna G. Eshoo
Hon. Michael F. Doyle
Hon. James P. McGovern
Hon. Robert A. Brady
Hon. Frederica S. Wilson
Hon. Kathy Castor
Hon. John A. Yarmuth
Hon. Karen Bass
Hon. Cedric L. Richmond
Hon. Janice Hahn
Hon. Suzan K. DelBene
Hon. Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Hon. Alan Grayson
Hon. Dina Titus
Hon. Joaquin Castro
Hon. Tammy Duckworth
Hon. Joseph P. Kennedy, III
Hon. Daniel T. Kildee
Hon. Alan Lowenthal
Hon. Michelle Lujan Grisham
Hon. Mark Pocan
Hon. Eric Swalwell
Hon. Marc A. Veasey
Hon. Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Hon. Bonnie Watson Coleman
Hon. Mark DeSaulnier
Hon. Debbie Dingell
Hon. Ted Lieu
Hon. Mark Takai
Hon. Norma J. Torres
Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan
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